Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and non-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member Egypt cut diplomatic, transport and trade ties with Qatar in June 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism and their regional foe Shi’ite Muslim Iran – something Doha denies. The United States, an ally of the six-nation Sunni Muslim GCC, sees the rift as a threat to efforts to contain Iran and has pushed for a united Gulf front. “When we have a common challenge, disputes between countries with shared objectives are never helpful,” Pompeo, who is on a tour of the Middle East, told a news conference in the Qatari capital, Doha.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and non-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member Egypt cut diplomatic, transport and trade ties with Qatar in June 2017, accusing it of supporting terrorism and their regional foe Shi’ite Muslim Iran — something Doha denies. The United States, an ally of the six-nation Sunni Muslim GCC, sees the rift as a threat to efforts to contain Iran and has pushed for a united Gulf front. “When we have a common challenge, disputes between countries with shared objectives are never helpful,” Pompeo, who is on a tour of the Middle East, told a news conference in the Qatari capital Doha.

World leaders have made clear the US’s isolated stance on climate change, with 19 of the G20 countries affirming their commitment to the “irreversible” Paris climate agreement. After lengthy negotiations that stretched well into Saturday, the final joint statement from the meeting in Hamburg notes Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris deal while stating that the world’s other major economies all still support the international effort to slow dangerous global warming.

Qatar appeared defiant as Saudi Arabia and its allies Monday extended a deadline for Doha to accept a series of demands to lift a de facto blockade. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt gave Doha 10 days to comply with their 13 demands, with the ultimatum due to expire at the end of Sunday. Qatar said it would give its response to the emir, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, on Monday.

By Sylvia Westall and Tom Finn DUBAI/DOHA (Reuters) – Qatar faces possible further sanctions by Arab states that have severed ties with Doha over allegations of links to terrorism, as a deadline to accept their demands is expected to expire on Sunday night. Qatari Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani said the demands were made to be rejected, adding that the Arab ultimatum was aimed not at tackling terrorism but at curtailing his country’s sovereignty. State news agency QNA reported that he would inform the ruler of Kuwait, a neutral Gulf Arab country seeking to mediate in the spat, of Qatar’s response on Monday.

Shoppers in Doha were taking no chances on Monday despite Qatari officials reassuring residents there was no need to panic after Saudi Arabia imposed a de facto food blockade. Qatar shares its only land border with Saudi Arabia, and relies heavily on food imports, much of it from Gulf countries. Arab nations including Saudi Arabia and Egypt on Monday cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of supporting extremism, in the biggest diplomatic crisis to hit the region in years.

A massive partisan split has opened among Americans on the role of the news media since the election of President Donald Trump, a new poll showed Wednesday. In the Pew Research Center poll, nearly nine in 10 Democrats (89 percent) said the media serves as a check against political leaders while just 42 percent of Republicans agreed with that statement. The findings are in sharp contrast with a survey in early 2016 when nearly the same share of Democrats (74 percent) and Republicans (77 percent) supported the “watchdog” role of the press, Pew said.